vaccinated. then they were getting tested for routine purposes, maybe because of travel or something like that, they were getting tested, so when they got those test results back, it was surprising, right, because they had been vaccinated, they got the test results back, but the big question, and i think what the science is showing is, despite the fact that they came back with a positive test, they are still unlikely to transmit that virus to somebody else, so unlikely to be silent or asymptomatic carriers to someone else and i think that's the big headline that's coming out of the most recent scientific studies that we're seeing. >> okay, i know you'll be watching along with us as the cdc makes their announcement here any moment. thank you, sanjay, and thank you all for joining me today. it's time for me to hand off to victor and alisyn as the news continues. continues. have a great evening. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. and welcome to "newsroom," everyone. i'm alisyn camerota along with

victor blackwell and we do begin this hour with breaking news. any moment, the cdc is expected to ease guidance on indoor mask wearing and social distancing for fully vaccinated people. >> we're going to take that announcement from the cdc director, dr. rochelle walensky, live as soon as it begins, but let's start with phil mattingly, senior white house correspondent there at the white house. phil, what do we know about this announcement and the timing of it? >> reporter: yeah, so, what we know right now is obviously earlier in the week, we reported that the cdc didn't have any imminent guidance coming and that was in large part because president biden in speaking to governors at a public event made clear there was the potential for new guidance as it pertained to those individuals that had been vaccinated. the cdc now appears to be on the verge of reversing itself, at least to some degree. the expectation is an announcement that those that have been vaccinated, fully vaccinated, if you are getting the two shots through both shots and the two-week period afterwards to achieve full

immunization, should, in many cases, not have to wear a mask both outdoors and indoors. we'll wait for the specifics as to how they actually lay this out, what caveats there actually are but i think this underscores what would be a clear, almost, pressure mounting over the course of the last several days, even before then, not just from lawmakers on capitol hill, though that was certainly the case when the president's public health officials were testifying earlier this week, but also from public health officials, making very clear that there should be new guidance as it pertains to the vaccinated, something that is not only justified by the science but is also justified by an effort to incentivize people to get vaccinated, make clear there are carrots at the end of the vaccination process, not just sticks and one of those primary carrots being that you would no longer have to wear a mask, not just outside when you're not in a large group of people, but also inside as well. the devil is in the details a little bit here. it will be interesting to see how specifically cdc officials lay out what the guidance will entail but it is clear they have been feeling the pressure not just again from capitol hill but

also from other public health officials that more needs to be done to incentivize people to get vaccinated, more needs to be done to underscore the fact that based on all of the science, all of the data that public health officials are seeing, there is a need to relax some of those guidelines that have been in place for so long, guys, and i would note one other final thing. the president has also announced previously unscheduled remarks. they will be at 3:45 p.m. we don't know specifically if they pertain to this but you can draw some conclusions by the fact the president will be speaking about the covid-19 response and vaccinations, according to the white house. so not exactly entirely clear what he's going to say, but generally, you can connect the dots a little bit here. >> good to know since that's on our watch, so thank you for tipping us off to that. but this would be a game changer, phil. i mean, we don't know exactly what the cdc and dr. rochelle walensky is going to say, but if it were changing the guidelines on mask-wearing indoors and outdoors, it would be a game changer. also what you just said. it's interesting to hear that

the cdc does respond to pressure, more lack of a better word, from governors and from various health experts that it was time to do that. also, let me -- phil, hold that thought for a second. let's bring in elizabeth cohen. she, of course, has been following all the developments on covid for us. so, elizabeth, like i was saying to phil, this would be a game changer. what do we know? >> oh, absolutely. this is a game changer. what we know is that dr. rochelle walensky, the head of the cdc, told chris cuomo last night that, you know, we think we're going to be changing our mask guidance very soon. we don't know exactly what "very soon" means but a lot of pressure on the cdc, saying to them, look, we know that you can't completely have every last little bit of science that you need to change masking guidance, but there is science out there that shows how very effective these vaccines are at protecting people and, and this is important, alisyn, and when people do get infected after getting vaccinated, which

happens rarely, but it does happen, those people, according to studies, tend to have lower viral loeads. it suggests they're not as infectious as other people. so, there is a lot of reason here to expect that when they do change this guidance, that it will be more lenient, giving vaccinated people more leeway to take off their masks. >> so, elizabeth, it's been just about two weeks since that chart with the masked faces on one side and the unmasked faces on the other was released from the cdc, confused some people. is there new science to support what we're going to hear, potentially, today, from what we knew two weeks ago? or is this primarily based on the criticism that we heard from even dr. fauci, saying it was a bit too strict? >> you know, victor, i think more the latter. the science that says these vaccines work really well, not just to protect the individual but to sort of cut down on their chance of being infectious, if

they do get covid, that's been around now for weeks, certainly before that mask guidance came out. i mean, maybe a little bit more has come out but the science has been out there for a while. the cdc has come under a lot of criticism and even ridicule for putting out that graphic that was so very difficult and confusing. you looked at it, you weren't quite sure what you were supposed to get out of it and it didn't, sort of in stark relief, say, hey, vaccinated people, you can do a whole lot more now without your masks than you could before. so i think this is much more about the pressure on the cdc to sort of move it and kind of go with what dr. fauci and others have been thinking and not be so worried that they don't have every single last bit of data that one would like to have, because frankly, that data takes months, often, to get. >> okay, guys, stay with us. let's bring in our cnn medical analysts, dr. jorge rodriguez and dr. lena wen. dr. wen, you have been pushing for something along what we

think might be coming out of the cdc. what are your thoughts? >> i cannot wait for the cdc announcement. overcaution has a price, and that price is that people have stopped paying attention to the cdc guidance, that the cdc is becoming increasingly irrelevant if what they're saying just seems separate from common sense. and common sense says that if you have a vaccine that's really effective, that protects you from getting infected, from spreading it to others, then you should be able to do a whole lot more than the cdc currently says that you can do. so, i really hope the cdc will come out and say, first of all, outdoors, safe for everyone. second, that fully vaccinated people can be around one another, including in large groups, in office settings, whatever settings, without restriction, and third, i hope the cdc also comes out with some kind of guidance on when additional restrictions like indoor mask mandates could be lifted. ideally, that's tied to some level of vaccination in that community. >> dr. rodriguez, what are you looking to hear from dr. walensky when she speaks in

just a moment? >> well, i'm looking for some clarity and for simplicity, to be quite honest, because i think there's so many messages coming out at different times that, like dr. wen so eloquently stated, people stopped listening because, you know, they really don't know what to believe. this is what usually happens behind the scenes in science. information is gathered and then when there is a definite conclusion, you put forth a statement or it becomes dogma. the american public is seeing how the scientific sausage is being made and that's confusing, so i do believe that it is time to sort of lessen some of these guidances, but again, people need to feel comfortable with what they're doing, and i hope that there will be simple guidance coming out in the next few minutes. >> dr. wen, you know, if this is what we think it is, and if there is a loosening of the guidance, for certainly outdoor mask wearing, this is going to require the honor system. you know, this is going to

require people who are doubly vaccinated to take off their masks and people who are not yet vaccinated to keep on their masks. and look, let's just be honest. sometimes not everybody does have the best interests of their neighbor at heart, so how are we going to navigate that? >> yeah, i am very concerned about that. and this is why i hope the cdc actually comes out and says, fully vaccinated people who are around others who have proof of vaccination, for example, i'm thinking the office setting, a lot of employees are being asked to return to work, but if people are allowed to not wear masks or distance, then i think people would also feel more comfortable if everybody there has some kind of proof they've all been vaccinated. i think otherwise, we are potentially putting people at risk, including people who are immunocompromised or individuals who cannot yet be vaccinated or have family members who cannot yet be vaccinated like little kids. so i hope the cdc will give some kind of inbetween step in

saying, you know, you can do whatever you want if you're fully vaccinated. however, if you're going to be in settings, in public settings with other people, there should still be some way of ensuring safety for everyone. >> you know, we have seen the growing spate of states that have governors who have signed executive orders, banning vaccine passports, so i'd like to know, once we hear from the cdc, how that potentially plays into this role of proving who is vaccinated and should be without a mask in some of these settings but we know that the president, phil, and the vice president, they've been vaccinated. we know that their spouses have as well. and they've been criticized, especially the president, for wearing a mask outdoors, sometimes in settings where even the cdc says that fully vaccinated people do not have to wear them. >> reporter: yeah, look, it's been a question, i think, a lot of us have had over the course of the last couple of weeks. you know, yesterday, the president meeting with lawmakers in the oval office, and

everybody was wearing n95 masks. same, i believe, today, based on -- i wasn't in the oval office but based on what i saw from the feed from our colleagues in the pool who were in there. they did it again. there's white house regulations right now inside the building that you have to wear a mask. it will be interesting to see if those transition but i think one of the questions that we have heard from outside experts is, you know, the president is taking great pride in modeling the -- >> hold that thought, if you would. phil, hold the thought. the cdc briefing is beginning. let's listen. >> let me close and hand it off to dr. walensky by reiterating some of the words the president said yesterday. on july 4th, let's celebrate our independence as a nation and our independence of the virus. 70% of adults with at least one shot by july 4th is a critical goal. when you're winning, you press harder. we can do this. but if you haven't gotten vaccinated yet, now is the time. and with that, over to dr. walensky for an important update and what our progress means for americans.

>> thank you, andy. good afternoon. i'm pleased to be back with you today. let's begin with an overview of the data. yesterday, cdc reported more than 34,200 new cases of covid-19. our seven-day average is about 36,800 cases per day. this represents yet another decrease of about 23% from our prior seven-day average. and every day with daily cases continuing to fall, we remain encouraged by these positive trends. the seven-day average of hospital admissions is 4,100. again, another terrific sign with another back-to-back decrease of 12% from the previous seven-day period. in seven-day average daily deaths have also declined to 587 per day. today, i have several exciting announcements to share with you. first, since becoming cdc director, i have seen firsthand the current frail state of the public health infrastructure in this country. i'm committed to upgrading the public health system so the

nation is ready for whatever comes next. with this in mind, today, we are announcing the upcoming release of $7.4 billion in funding from the american rescue plan to hire, train, and support public health workers across the country, reflective of the diversity within the communities they serve. over half of the money being released, $4.4 billion, will support states and localities, creating tens of thousands of new jobs in communities across america, expanding our overstretched public health departments with new hires to support their covid-19 efforts, and $3 billion will be focused on preparing these same jurisdictions for future pandemics and to build a public health workforce for the future. though many threats have increased in complexity and scale in recent years, our nation's public health workforce has gotten smaller. this support will immediately add more staff in health departments across the country

and will add school nurses to k-12 schools to support safe reopenings and operations and support vaccinations as vaccines are authorized for younger people. it will expand the number of cdc epidemic intelligence service officers, our elite disease detectives, to respond to local outbreaks and help curb the pandemic. it will expand public health career paths, recruit and train a diverse group of future public health leaders, and launch a public health americorps and i will create new programs intended to increase staffing at our nation's laboratories and build preparedness for our future. we are really excited about what this support will mean for our nation's public health capability now and into the future. second, last night, i endorsed the recommendations of cdc's advisory committee on immunization practices, making the pfizer vaccine available to anyone who was 12 years and older.

i want to thank the acip for reviewing the science and providing their recommendations on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines in adolescents. this is an important step forward in our efforts to vaccinate as many people as possible and to stop the pandemic. and finally, i want to provide you an update regarding cdc's guidance for fully vaccinated people. over the course of the pandemic, we are continuously gathering data and evidence to inform our guidance and decision making. we now have numerous reports in the literature that demonstrate the safety and real world effectiveness of the authorized vaccine. on this slide, there are three recently published studies, one from israel published in the journal of the american medical association or jama on the top and two from the united states, both published in cdc's morbidity and mortality weekly report. they all show that covid-19 vaccines work.

in israel, there was a demonstrated 97% vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic and 86% effectiveness against asymptomatic infection in over 5,000 healthcare workers. in the united states, vaccines were 90% effective against any infection in nearly 4,000 healthcare workers and 94% effective against hospitalizations from covid-19 in an evaluation across 24 hospitals in 14 states. additionally, we are accumulating data that our authorized vaccines are effective against the variants that are circulating in this country. on this slide, you can see a study published just last week that demonstrates how effective the pfizer vaccine is against the common circulating variants in the united states. b.1.1.7, as well as other variants like b.1.351. additional studies confirm the moderna and johnson & johnson vaccines are also effective

against circulating variants. finally, we know that in the rare event that people get infected after a vaccine, the resulting infection is more likely to have a lower viral load, be shorter in duration, and likely less risky of transmission to others. considering all of these factors, the data on vaccine effectiveness, the science on their ability to protect against circulating variants, and our growing understanding of the low risk of transmission to others, combined with universal access to vaccines for those 12 and older, today, cdc is updating our guidance for fully vaccinated people. anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing. if you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic. we have all longed for this

moment when we can get back to some sense of normalcy. based on the continuing downward trajectory of cases, the scientific data on the performance of our vaccines and our understanding of how the virus spreads, that moment has come for those who are fully vaccinated. now, if you are immune compromised, you will most definitely want to talk to your doctor before giving up your masks. also, locations such as healthcare facilities will continue to follow their specific infection control recommendations. and lastly, this past year has shown us that this virus can be unpredictable. so, if things get worse, there is always a chance we may need to make change to these recommendations. but we know that the more people are vaccinated, the less cases we will have and the less chance of a new spike or additional variants emerging. if you develop symptoms, you should put your mask back on and get tested right away. the science is also very clear

about unvaccinated people. you remain at risk of mild or severe illness, of death, or spreading the disease to others. you should still mask, and you should get vaccinated right away. this is an exciting and powerful moment. it could only happen because of the work of so many who made sure we had the rapid administration of three safe and effective vaccines. it could also only happen because we have an adequate supply of those vaccines for everyone 12 years and older in this country. your health and how soon you return to normal life before the pandemic are in your very capable hands. if you are not yet vaccinated, please go to vaccines.gov or text your zip code to get vaxxed, 438829 to find a vaccine in your area. once you are fully vaccinated, two weeks after your last dose,

you can shed your mask. thank you. i'll now turn things over to dr. fauci. >> thank you very much, dr. walensky. so, dr. walensky has spoken to you about the exciting issues that we can now look forward to when you have vaccination. i'm going to talk to you a little bit about the future of where we want to go with vaccines with regard to coronavirus, and that is the development of a universal coronavirus vaccine. if i could have the first slide. this is something that has been discussed now for some time, these two articles, one in the late press in "the new york times" asking about the possibility of the use of coronavirus and the other in science magazine by jon cohen. so what do we mean by universal coronavirus? next slide. this is the genetic trait. the ones in red font are human

coronaviruses and the four that have yellow highlighting are the four viruses that account for anywhere from 5% to 15% of the common colds that we all get each year. next slide. in 2002, you had sars cov-1, and in 2012, you had sars -- the mers coronavirus. again, the first indication that coronaviruses were capable of pandemic potential. and then now, on the next slide, as you see, we are dealing with this very difficult situation of the historic pandemic of sars cov-2. next slide. so, what people are asking is can we actually conceptually and in reality get a pan-coronavirus vaccine? there have been a number of forays into that using different types of vaccine platforms. but there was a recent paper published that i want to spend just a minute on because it really is potentially exciting

and it is an important proof of concept. next slide. the paper appeared just a couple of days ago in the journal, "nature." and what it is, the development of neutralizing antibodies for both pandemic and pre-emergent coronaviruses by a particular platform, technology, technique. let me explain. next slide. the proof of concept is one that antibodies that can neutralize multiple different coronaviruses have been isolated from people in their normal immune response who were infected with sars-cov-1. this was a strong suggestion that a pan-coronavirus might be possible. what the investigators at duke university found out was that a specific, highly conserved site on the receptor binding domain of the spike protein makes multiple human and bat

coronaviruses highly vulnerable to cross-neutralizing antibodies. and with that observation, next slide, what they did is that they designed a nanoparticle vaccine which actually displayed, as shown on this slide, 24 copies of this receptor binding domain and added an adjuvant to boost the immune response. so in monkeys, the nanoparticle response blocked sars-cov-2 and elicited higher antibodies than seen with current vaccines or with natural infection. but importantly, which is the crux of this discussion, is that the vaccine elicited cross-neutralizing antibody against bat coronaviruses, human sars-cov-1, sars-cov-2, and variants of sars-cov-2 that we

are dealing with such as b.1.1.7, p.1 and b.351. now although these experiments are conducted in a nonhuman primate, and we always have to have a caveat, nonetheless, this is an extremely important proof of concept that we will be aggressively pursuing as we get into the development of human trials. so, i'll stop there and back to you, andy. >> thank you, dr. fauci. dr. walensky. all right, let's take questions. >> thank you, andy. i know everybody probably has a lot of questions today, so we can get through as many as possible, please, one question each. tamara keith, npr. >> thank you for taking my question. i am wondering what this means about social distancing, what this means about your guidelines for schools and workplaces and

also what you think this mask change might mean for incentives, whether it will incentivize people to get vaccinated or for people who have been resistant, now they have no reason to get vaccinated in >> dr. walensky? >> thank you, tamara, for that question. i want to be clear that we followed the science here. while this may serve as incentive for some people to get vaccinated, that is not the purpose. our purpose here is, as a public health agency, to follow the science and to follow where we are with regard to the science and what is safe for individuals to do. of course, this guidance is really just for individuals who are vaccinated and what they can do, safely do, and we have work ahead of us in terms of updating our guidance with regard to all our settings, as you note, schools and camps and that will be the work that we have ahead of us. >> next question. >> cheyenne, abc. >> hi, thanks for taking my question. you mentioned the science, and we know it's been about 16 days

since the cdc last updated its guidance on masks. we also saw heavy criticism in the last week for moving too slow. has the science really changed in 16 days, or is this a response to public criticism? >> thank you for that question. so, several things have happened in the last two weeks. in the last two weeks, the cases in this country have dropped by a third. in the last two weeks, we have had increasing available vaccine and we now have available and eligible people between the ages of 12 and 15. and we have had a coalescens. one is the effectiveness of the vaccines in general and real world populations. one is the effectiveness against variants, which was just published last week. and then the effectiveness in preventing transmissibility. >> great. someone get some water. okay. next question.

>> kaitlan collins, cnn. >> thank you so much. my question is for you, dr. walensky. you said regardless of gathering size and even if indoors, you don't have to wear a mask. i noticed that you did not list exceptions beyond healthcare providers, i believe, so does this mean vaccinated people can take their mask off on an airplane? >> so, right now, thank you for that question, kaitlan. right now, we still have the requirement to wear masks when you travel on buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation, and we are -- as well as airports and stations. cdc, as i mentioned, is going to continue to update our guidance as policy in the science emerges. right now, for travel, we are asking people to continue to wear their masks. >> next question. >> let's go to mona austin at the urban radio report. >> thank you so much for taking my question.

i'm wondering if you've given any thought to extra measures to help african-american parents in perhaps embedded fear over getting their children now vaccinated since there was such hesitation in the african-american community throughout the pandemic. >> dr. walensky, you want to start with that? >> yeah. thank you for that question. we recognize that we have had to do extra outreach in many different kinds of communities, the trusted messenger campaign that we are doing, having vaccine available in local pharmacies, having vaccine available in local pediatricians, and with now the availability of vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds, we are absolutely conducting that extra outreach, not only for parents to want the vaccine themselves but for parents to want to get their children vaccinated as well. absolutely. >> let me just add a couple measures. first of all, while vaccines are great and they're having massive

impact, all questions that people have are reasonable, whether it's for themselves or their children. and as individual communities have very specific questions, that's why we've created the health equity task force, and that's why we've created a whole set of people in communities that can answer questions. the only thing that people should make sure they do is ask a trusted physician, ask clergy, ask a pharmacist, ask someone reliable and trustworthy about getting vaccinated. don't go online to some social media site and get whatever you get. that's the job that we're doing here is to make sure those questions can get answered. next question. >> tom christopher, mediaite. >> hello. yes, thank you for doing this. my question is for dr. fauci. i heard you say to gayle king, she said that people were looking at her funny for wearing a mask, even though she's vaccinated, and i was wondering

if you had anything to say to people who have been vaccinated and still want to wear masks in situations that the cdc says are low risk. is there anything wrong with that and should people be side-eyeing them? >> no, not at all. i mean, people have to make their own personal choice. what you heard from dr. walensky is the recommendation based on science, and that's just a recommendation. and when people want to do that, they at least have the science behind them. there's absolutely nothing wrong with an individual who has a certain level for risk aversion, as we know, the risk is extremely low of getting infected if you're vaccinated, whether you're indoors or outdoors, but there are those people who don't want to take that bit of a risk, and there's nothing wrong with that and they shouldn't be criticized. >> dr. walensky, anything you want to add to that? >> i just absolutely agree. people have to make these decisions based on their own comfort. >> and look, habits are hard to

break. so, people may take time to adjust. that's fine. as a rule, we are anti-side-eyeing. next question. >> pbs. >> hi, thanks so much for taking my question. i have a question on what this means for fully vaccinated people that are entering spaces where they don't know if the people that are around them are fully vaccinated. i.e., if you're going to a possible concert or a restaurant, is it okay to take off your mask even if you're surrounded by people who aren't vaccinated, and why keep masks as a requirement for people that are traveling if it's not in small or big gatherings? >> yeah, thank you for that. so, we -- the science demonstrates that if you are fully vaccinated, you are protected. it is the people who are not fully vaccinated in those

settings who might not be wearing a mask who are not protected, and it is those people that we are encouraging to get vaccinated and to wear a mask and to physically distance. so if you're vaccinated in those settings, you certainly could wear a mask if you wanted to, but we are saying in those settings, based on the science, that it is safe. you know, the -- we are going to be looking at all of our guidance and updating a all of our guidance, including our travel guidance, and in the -- shortly as we do an overview now that we have this new guidance out there. >> next question. >> kristen welker, nbc. >> hi, thank you so much for taking the question. can you talk about how this new guidance squares with the fact that you're still concerned about the variants that could be in this country and other countries, and can you speak to this report that there are seven, apparently, new york

yankees members of the coaching and support staff that have tested positive for covid-19, despite the fact that they were vaccinated with the j&j vaccine. should people be concerned about that headline? what do we take away from that? thank you. >> thank you, kristen. with regard to the variants, we are now sequencing about 30 to 35,000 samples a week. we have a really good window into what certain variants are circulating here, about 7% to 10% of all virus we're now sequencing, and we now have data that shows not only in the lab but in real populations, in cohorts, that our vaccines work against the variants that are circulating here. we will consistently be looking for new variants and will be testing for new variants. we have not found any yet but suggest that the vaccines do not work against them. with regard to the yankees, we obviously need to learn more about that situation. my understanding is that six of the seven infections were indeed

asymptomatic infections and we will look to more data from that report to understand what happened there. all of the real world data that we have seen that's been in the published literature, large studies, in many different settings, have demonstrated that those vaccines are effective, have a high effectiveness against disease. >> next question. >> last question. let's go to zeke miller at the a.p. >> thanks for doing this. i was hoping you might go to outline what is the federal government's message to people who are not fully vaccinated right now? what should they be doing while they're fully vaccinated peers and family members may be takitaking off their masks, number one. and number two, what is the message to businesses,schools, others, anyone else in a setting where it's hard to determine who is and who is not fully vaccinated in terms of moderning or response or bringing their patrons into compliance with cdc

guidelines. >> thank you. so, my first message is, if you are not fully vaccinated, you are not fully protected, and so you need to be continuing to wear your mask and practicing all of the mitigation strategies that we have been discussing before. and then, importantly, get fully vaccinated. so, text 438829, find a vaccine near you, and get yourself fully vaccinated. so, that's really the first message if you're not fully vaccinated. with regard to what businesses, communities, schools, we, of course, will be updating our guidance in many of these areas very shortly but importantly, i think we really need to understand that this country is very heterogenous, it's not uniform, so these are going to -- these decisions are going to have to be made at the local level and i would encourage counties and localities to look at how much vaccine they have, how many people have been vaccinated, look at how many cases are in their area, and to make those decisions with that information in mind.

>> thank you all, and have a great day. all right, landmark day in the fight against covid-19 and the pandemic. the line, anyone who is fully vaccinated can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physically distancing. let's bring in chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta. sanjay, what did you take away from this? because there's still a lot of gray areas that have to be navigated. >> right. it's come into clearer focus, but there's still a little blurriness around the edges here. it's a big day. i mean, you know, overall, i think the cdc, what they're saying now reflects the science that has been emerging now for the past several weeks, really since we started vaccination nating people en masse and collecting real world data, it became very clear that not only

were vaccines really good at keeping people from getting sick, they were also really good at keeping people from getting infected, because you can be infected without getting sick but the third component was even if you did get an infection, even if you tested positive for covid after having been vaccinated, it was unlikely you would develop enough virus in your body to transmit it to others. those are the three components. not likely to get sick, not likely to get infected and very unlikely to transmit the virus to somebody else if you did. so that's why this guidance now says, if you're vaccinated, you really don't need to wear a mask indoors or outdoors, gatherings large or small, as you said. the blurriness that you're alluding to, which i completely agree with is, how do you know? you go into a public place of some sort. you're vaccinated so you're okay, protected, you know, very well protected against getting sick. there may be other people who are not wearing masks. are they also vaccinated? how do you know? are they in compliance? how's that all going to sort

out? unless you have to show proof of vaccination, that's going to be challenging. the other thing that dr. walensky did not answer, despite being asked twice, once by kaitlan and once again by kristen welker, was, why still masks on things like airplanes then? if you're saying you don't need to wear masks, if you're vaccinated, indoors, outdoors, gatherings large and small, why airplanes still? there's still a little bit of -- it's still not clear to me exactly what's driving some of these recommendations. >> sanjay, despite all of that, i just want to take a moment to mark this minute, because i found myself welling up when dr. walensky was talking, and she said, we have an exciting announcement, and i still find myself welling up, even right now, because you know, you and i talked every morning during the past year about how many more americans were going to die, what was going to happen, were we going to make it to the vaccines, were we all going to survive? what was going to happen?

and 580,000 americans didn't make it to this day, you know? this day that they say that we can throw these away, that we've all been clinging to. and here we are. i mean, we just didn't know when this day would come, but it feels a little bit like it's over today. doesn't it? >> you're getting me emotional too. alisyn, gosh, i got goose bumps as you were talking. it's a really important day. it is. and i hear what you're saying, because can we say that and still be really honest about the trauma and the tragedy we've been through? significant. i mean, this is -- should not feel like in any way that minimizes what has happened over this past year. i completely agree. and you know, it's not over in the sense that you well know that there's 34,000 people still became infected today, 600 people still died. i mean, i know those are much smaller numbers than we have been talking about, but 600 people died today.

of this disease, a disease that didn't exist at the end of 2019. in the united states. you know, 600 people died. so, you know, we're not through it yet, but it does feel, i agree requwith you, very moment and i think another thing is, as hard as it was to get people to do the science-based things at the beginning of this pandemic, we should not make the mistake of making it hard to stop doing things that are no longer necessary, not following the science again. we got to follow the science, whichever direction it takes us. it tells us to do things we're not comfortable doing in the beginning but now it says we don't need to do things and we got to follow that science as well. >> let's pick up right there because this is the recommendation from the cdc. the states, the businesses have to now implement these. what does a business owner do who has been requiring masks to come in and has kept the table separated and social distancing

when now half the customers come in or a third come in and say, i don't have to wear a mask. the cdc says i don't have to socially distance. what are they supposed to do now in their responsibility to mitigate the spread of the virus? >> that is the blurriness around the edges, victor. you know, that we're talking about. it's -- this is -- they've sort of left it on these communities and these private organizations now to sort of handle that. are they going to require proof of vaccination in order to not be compliant with their rules that they have had in place for so long? i don't know. i think that's going to be a difficult transition period, because as you point out, you know, first of all, there's still tens of thousands of people becoming infected every day, but there's only about a third of the country that has been fully vaccinated at this point. hopefully the numbers will continue to grow and this may serve as some incentive, but that is -- i think it's going to be different in different places. there may be places that still say, hey, look, you know what? we're erring on the side of

safety still. we're still going to, at least indoors, we're telling people they need to wear masks because we don't know if you've been vaccinated or not. i think that's also what we saw some of dr. walensky's hesitation when she was asked twice about airplanes. she said, we will update our guidance on that soon. so, they're drawing these lines here, still. we're going through this period of transition. it's not completely sort of lifted, you know, in terms of masks because there are those sorts of scenarios that you're describing. >> alisyn, i wonder, it's okay now for me to go to church on sunday morning and sing all the hymns and stand shoulder to shoulder. it's okay now for me to go to a movie theater and laugh and shout and talk back to the screen, but if i get on a flight from atlanta to new york, i've got to put my mask back on. >> and no singing and no talking back on that flight also. >> can't do that either. >> i know. i mean, it is a -- okay, yes, it's still nebulous, it is still confusing. i understand all of that. and obviously, i think that

they're asking for a little patience from all of us as they come out and roll out more guidance. and also, sanjay, were you surprised that they -- i thought that they were going to lift the mask guidance when certain communities hit certain benchmarks, right? if you were at a 1% positivity rate in your town or your state, well, then, okay, you could get rid of the masks but they're not doing that. i mean, they made a much more blanket statement than that, that, okay, if we're doubly vaccinated, as all three of us are, we can take off our masks today. >> i was surprised by that. and i was surprised not because -- i think what they've done today does follow the science. i was surprised by that because clearly they hadn't already made some of these recommendations, and i wonder eed, what are the hesitations? why not do this a few weeks ago or a couple months ago? and i think it's exactly what you said, alisyn. they were saying, the united states is a very heterogenous place. there are places where you have

very low viral transmission and lots of places where the viral transmission is still too high. yes, your risk is very, very low of getting sick, you know, 95% protected but if you're living in an area where there's a lot of viral spread still your rods are increased because there is more virus in the environment. i thought they would wait, just like you say. but they're not. they're saying for the country, as a whole, you know, here's the deal. you don't need to wear a mask, if you're vaccinated, indoors, gatherings, large or small. >> how about schools? what do you do now with schools where you have got some teenagers who are wearing masks who are vaccinated, you've got some who are not. i don't mean to be a pessimist here. i'm just trying to get the clarity on what this means for families, for businesses who have to now navigate this recommendation from the cdc but we still have to see how much of this will be implemented practically. >> right. no, and you know, they were asked about that specifically. you get to make these guidelines sort of at the national level, but then it is up to communities

and organizations, schools, businesses, to implement them. i think with schools, you're obviously now wuf vaccines available for 12 to 15-year-olds, so this is really going to be about younger students going into the fall next year. what is that going to mean for them? perhaps we may have even vaccines authorized for younger people by that time as well. we'll see. i think it's going to be a risk tolerance situation. there may be some school districts -- by the way, schools could have still opened safely even without vaccines, just to be clear. there were plenty of studies that have shown that. but they did require masks and physical distancing and adequate ventilation. how will this new guidance affect those measures over the next several weeks and then obviously as we start up again in the fall? >> i'm excited too, alisyn, by the way. i am excited that vaccinated people can take the masks off. >> you're the pessimist, victor. >> i just wonder, now, when i go to the yogrocery store, i don't wear my mask, what happens? i've been wearing a mask for a year. it takes a bit of adjustment.

i don't know what these businesses will do. >> it's going to feel weird. >> yeah. >> well, you heard andy slavitt there say they're anti-sideeye. >> i call it the stank eye. that's what i got in baltimore when i was outside without a mask. >> we've talked about this. this is going to require the honor system, sanjay, and it's going to require trust, even for everybody, because we have been conditioned now to be, you know, to feel anxious and to have so much anxiety and to look at people without masks and what are you doing, and why aren't you concerned about your neighbor's health and now, today, to peel this mask off, it's going to require the honor system and i also thought it was interesting that they talked about the psychology. it's going to take people a while. old habits die hard. and so do anxiety. and it's going to take a while and we're going to even see people who are doubly vaccinated still wearing their masks because people are still scared, and who could blame them after the trauma of what we've been through the past year?

>> no doubt. i mean, i see that, and i hear that. all the time. and also, you know, i mean, look, there may be these situations where they do recommend that at least for periods of time, wearing a mask would be a good idea. i mean, you know, even during flu season, we saw flu rates drop down. i don't know that the united states will become a mask-wearing country like we see in other countries around the world, but you know, who knows? that's -- it's going to be a period of adjustment, just as hard as it was to get people to start doing these things, it's also going to be hard to get people to stop doing these things or unnecessarily doing these things, i should say. >> sanjay, we have had the conversation during this administration and the last, of the importance of leading by example. i remember when former president trump came home from walter reed and went to the top of the stairs and ripped the mask off, although he had covid at the time. this president has been criticized for wearing a mask outdoors when even the cdc suggested it wasn't necessary because he's viet cong.

>> should we, do you expect we will see the president wear a mask anymore? >> that's a good question. i don't know. you know, he doesn't need to. i mean, the science is what it is. it is funny, andy slavitt was asked about this and he gave some version of an answer that says, the president's different, he has secret service. there's extra things that go into protecting the president. but you know, the science shows he's 78 years old as well, so he's considered vulnerable but if you're vaccinated, and you're around people who are vaccinated, as he is, he shouldn't need to wear a mask. you know, when he's in the oval office, when he's working at the white house, he shouldn't need to wear a mask so we'll see how that behavior changes, how much of it is just his habit that he's now picked up. but i think what we can say now, and the cdc has said this based on looking at the data, that, hey, you're very unlikely to get sick, b, very unlikely to get infected and very unlikely to

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so now, between all apart and all together, there's a bridge. cisco. the bridge to possible. folks, we have had huge news this hour. for doubling vaccinated, fully vaccinated americans, the cdc just changed their guidance. you can now lose the mask outdoors and indoors regardless, dr. walensky said the size of the group, and victor, just what

a remarkable hour it has been. to hear the cdc say that in such a definitive way was really remarkable. >> it was a massive social change on how we will treat the mitigation of this virus and the way we live our lives. the idea that social distancing is over for vaccinated people is going to change the way we interact with people moving forward. let's bring back dr. sanjay gupta still with us. i know i am getting slammed on social media but i think we need to balance the excitement of the moment with what this means for people that have to implement it, when we are going to the grocery store, the mall? how do you look at this announcement, as the social element of the pandemic? >> well, i think it's going to be challenging for lots of institutions to figure out what to do with this because it's going to feel like whiplash, they have become so diligent in

some places, private institutions and grocery stores and whatever it may be, and this is different guidance. part of it, you have to look at it like this on a practical level, if you are vaccinated you are very well protected against getting sick, infected and even transmitting the virus and that last part is a crucial newer ingredient, even if you are vaccinated and the likelihood that if you became infected you are unlikely to transmit the virus, the full load, and some people say i am not vaccinated but won't wear a mask either. they are really putting themselves at risk. themselves, not necessarily vaccinated people at risks but themselves and unvaccinated people at risk.

that's the metric, two communities in the country, the vaccinated and unvaccinated. are you doing the vaccinated person a disservice by not wearing a mask? no. >> let's bring in white house chief correspondent, kaitlan collins. this, as i understand it was not supposed to happen today, this new cdc guidance? at least we had been told earlier that wait was going to take a while longer, and then something changed and something was reversed. what was behind this huge announcement today? >> you word walensky say earlier what changed in the last two weeks were the cases changes and the vaccine supply, and we know

they were facing a lot of pressure from lawmakers and other health experts saying your guidance right now is just too conservative, and walensky was one of those officials on capitol hill testifying and she was pressed on this and this was a surprise to white house officials and they have gone to great lengths in saying we are not involved in what the cdc is doing, and they felt like that was a line that did not exist during the trump administration where often political officials tried to pressure the scientists at the cdc and fda, and they tried not to be involved. yes, it did catch them off guard with the cdc was going to issue this guidance, and you heard biden being pushed on it by governors during a call this week, and they said we need the help of the federal government to model this new guidance. and news we're just getting in,

given the new guidance from the cdc on what vaccinated people could do, we are told the white house sent an e-mail to its staffers telling them they no longer have to wear a mask on white house grounds if they are fully vaccinated, of course. that was the rule before that you did not have to wear it if you were sitting at your desk, but if you are walking around the halls and complex, even vaccinated, staffers were still wearing a mask and now the white house is updating its guidance based on the new cdc guidance, and does this transport to the transportation tsa, and their mask mandate for planes, and to private businesses and grocery stores and what not, and does that trickle down and change that guidance for them now that the cdc issued its own guidance, of course. >> sanjay, should we expect to see a return to concerts that are full or filling more of the stadiums across the country

because of the recommendation that came from the cdc today? >> yeah, i think so. i think certainly for outdoor venues, i think it was pretty clear already going to the summer a lot of these organizations were planning large events and things like that. i think for the indoor events, and this was the right issue you bring up, victor, which is what is that going to mean for these venues, are they going to require some proof of vaccination, and private organizations can do that, saying you have to have proof of some sort, so we'll see. these are a lot of discussions that have been going on at the cdc for sometime, and elizabeth cohen has been doing reporting on the back and forth to get to this point today which is a significant point, but even though we are hearing something pretty conclusive, there was a lot of back and forth. i have heard from people, and elizabeth did as well, that up until recently the thinking was

we are not likely to sort of loosen indoor masking for sometime, and that will be the last thing to loosen because it's so effective and a rather easy thing to do. this represents a significant change and part of that change is to get to what you are describing, these types of events, you know, within the near future. >> kaitlan collins, and dr. sanjay gupta, thank you both. sanjay, thank you for all your guidance over the last year and it's a remarkable day to be able to share with you, this moment. >> thank you, you, too. it's the top of the hour. we are following major changes for millions of americans vaccinated against the coronavirus. starting today, right now, the cdc says if you are fully vaccinated you no longer have to wear your mask indoor or outdoors. >> i don't know what to do with this, victor. i don't know what to do anymore with the mask. this is going to b